What's the big deal?

Izwan Ismail
New Straits Times
06-13-2011
What's the big deal?
Byline: Izwan Ismail
Edition: Main/Lifestyle
Section: Tech & U
Column: Trends

SHOP online and get things at rock-bottom prices, writes IZWAN ISMAIL.

When Jan Croeni came visiting a few years back, he saw a culture that was synonymous with all the races here - shopping.
That prompted him to set up a business that can further fuel the shopping culture among the people.

"What I saw as I walked around Kuala Lumpur were sales everywhere. The situation is also the same in Singapore," he says.

"From there, I was convinced that the business I was about to start had a lot of potential," he adds.

It was an online coupon deal, a new shopping concept that enabled people to buy things and services in advance at a much lower price. After a thorough study, he and his partner established myDeal.com.my with a US$3.5 million (RM10.57 million) capital in an office in Jalan Ampang in June 2010.

"Although some were still sceptical about spending online in the beginning, the mentality had somehow changed when they realised that it was safe to do so," says Croeni. The fact that online business models like AirAsia, Amazon and cinemas have been very successful here further convinced Croeni about the willingness to shop online.

"I realised it was vital that people had 100 per cent trust in the security of the business. So we worked together with iPay88, an online payment gateway used by many online business here. It's a credible gateway in Malaysia," he says.

A month prior to that, Croeni and his partner had also established a similar set-up in Singapore.

Online coupons

While Online coupons may be new here, Croeni says the concept started way back in 2000 in the US, but it did not take off.

"The idea was good at that time, but there wasn't enough mechanism to support this business model at that time," he says, pointing to the role of social networking today.

"No doubt social networking websites like Facebook are the main drivers of this business model, as shopping and buying things online is all about social life where people talk about it," he says.

This is true as today, 75 per cent of myDeal.com.my coupon advertisements are on Facebook and the rest can be seen on search engines like Google and Yahoo!.

"2008 was the year where this business model was given a new life and several companies in the US paved the way successfully. In 2009, the concept became big in Europe and in 2010, we brought it to Southeast Asia," says Croeni.

How it works

As one surfs the Internet, using Facebook for instance, he or she will see a myDeal ad popping up at one section of the webpage or he or she can go to myDeals.com.my to look for deals there.

When a person buys the deal, he or she will get the coupon via email and print it. Then he or she will go to the restaurant, shop or whatever the coupon is for to redeem, which can last up to six months.

"To date, we have 500 merchants offering deal under myDeal.com.my, all in Malaysia. We have locations in Penang, Johor Baru, and will be opening in Kota Kinabalu soon," he says.

Croeni says myDeals offers coupons based on locations. "If you visit myDeals you can choose the locations on the deals that you want to purchase. Prior to going to a certain place, you can check the deals there and make a purchase at a cheaper price," he says.

"If a person wants to go to a restaurant for a fantastic meal at RM50, he may want to visit myDeal. The same deal may be 50 per cent off the price." he adds.

The discounts myDeal offers are not just from restaurants, but also spas, sport activities like paintball, etc.

"So far, we don't offer deals on gadgets yet as the prices are normally controlled," says Croeni.

"The advantage for the vendors is that they get free promotions on our websites. The commission is 100 per cent performance-based where only when we managed to sell, we'll get the commission," he adds.

Future

To date, myDeal.com.my has 200,000 users. "When we started, we only sold 500 coupons a month but now it's about 80,000," says Croeni.

His aim is for myDeals to provide coupon deals for every town in Malaysia in five years' time.

"We also hope to offer more deal categories, including gadgets and luxury deals. We also want to be a brand renowned in Malaysia when it comes to online coupons, "says Croeni.

(Copyright 2011)